Traction sand bags in snow country?

[Mojoh]

Will be my first winter with the Mav. My previous and only p.u. "truck " was a very little, but Bulldog 92 Isuzu 6 cyl. 4 wheel. Got new, gave it away, still running and plowing snow, worked for me decades. So-' winter here in N.W. MT loaded it with about 400 lbs sand bags.
What about the N.W.MT no snow plow Mav? Snow/ ice on roads common
None ok, or what's a good weight ?

Sponsored

 

[Maverickman74]

Will be my first winter with the Mav. My previous and only p.u. "truck " was a very little, but Bulldog 92 Isuzu 6 cyl. 4 wheel. Got new, gave it away, still running and plowing snow, worked for me decades. So-' winter here in N.W. MT loaded it with about 400 lbs sand bags.
What about the N.W.MT no snow plow Mav? Snow/ ice on roads common
None ok, or what's a good weight ?

I always did that in my Ranger years ago. Went through a bout a full foot more snow than a 2wd should with it. As for the Maverick. If you got the AWD I doubt you would need it. The distribution is pretty good on it compared to all front on older 2 door trucks. I would have to wonder if the added weight would start to hinder it any. If you do I would go with more like 200lbs right at the tailgate. You can use a board in the flex bed slot to keep it there real solid.

But again with AWD, it may not be needed. And with the 2wds being front wheel drive based it would do no good at all.

 

[bgn]

Not needed. These are not RWD.

 

[fossil]

lol, last time I used something like this was in a Mustang

 

[Gray Goose]

I would never add weight to an AWD or FWD vehicle. That just increases stopping distance.
If more traction is needed, upgrade the tires.

 

[710-oil-614]

Upgrade the tires before you add weight to the rear for AWD.

 

[cyberdog]

Yep, most of the weight whether Hybrid or EB2/AWD is over the front wheels, and even the AWD models are primarily FWD until slip is detected under most conditions. These aren't a true full time AWD setup like found on Subaru & Audi vehicles. - My Outback for instance was a 45/55 torque split even cruising down the highway at a constant speed, and then proactively adjusted to conditions. (Mine was the 3.6R/5-Speed, newer CVT models are 60/40 by default until slip is detected).

Putting weight in the back would be counter productive, although a little might help keep the back end from sliding out taking a turn. I'm thinking just having the tonneau & carpet-mat installed should take care of that issue, without compromising the front end traction. You're best bet if you're in a high snow area are winter rated tires carrying the flake/3-peaks logo.

 

[Bob The Builder]

When I actually worked for a living and used my truck for something more than just lugging my ass around I always had a load of something in the rear bed including a tool box. I always felt it helped keep the rear end from coming around and meeting the front end. Usually enough weight to make the truck sit close to level. Now?? No need. If it is that bad that I feel I need to do things like that, gonna just hang tight sitting by the wood stove watching everyone grind up our hill.

 

[PSchiefelbein]

I don't have my Maverick yet but hope to by the end of October. At 73 I've spent years driving FWD, RWD, and 4WD through the worst WI and ND could throw at me. My first FWD was a revelation: virtually every winter driving condition became easier to handle (except, of course, backing up). In 1995 I started driving F150's as they were better for my back. I made sure they were 4WD, but I still had to relearn all my RWD tricks anyway, saving the switchover for situations when I was desperate. It really helped throwing two fifty-pound sandbags over the rear tires, but I still missed FWD. I don't think you'll have any problems with FWD except if the back is loaded down and moves the center of gravity towards the back. Then some extra weight over the front wheels might indeed make a difference (if there is any place you can put it). Once I get mine and some snow I'll be happy to do an update.

 

[merlin101]

Will be my first winter with the Mav. My previous and only p.u. "truck " was a very little, but Bulldog 92 Isuzu 6 cyl. 4 wheel. Got new, gave it away, still running and plowing snow, worked for me decades. So-' winter here in N.W. MT loaded it with about 400 lbs sand bags.
What about the N.W.MT no snow plow Mav? Snow/ ice on roads common
None ok, or what's a good weight ?

The Mav appears to have a bit better weight balance than most of the older small pickups from the 90s and such. Also, most importantly, it's either Front wheel drive or AWD (which defaults to FWD unless it detects slippage). As you probably already had some experience with, the issue with the light back-end in older small pickups was the RWD didn't have enough weight above it to get traction, so you'd either spin out or fishtail.

Shouldn't have that problem here. I imagine a little extra weight could help mitigate fishtailing around slick corners in a small subset of circumstances, but I don't know if it's worth it overall. For general driving/acceleration traction it will not have any benefit though, regardless of FWD or AWD.

 

[2lbgill]

Will be my first winter with the Mav. My previous and only p.u. "truck " was a very little, but Bulldog 92 Isuzu 6 cyl. 4 wheel. Got new, gave it away, still running and plowing snow, worked for me decades. So-' winter here in N.W. MT loaded it with about 400 lbs sand bags.
What about the N.W.MT no snow plow Mav? Snow/ ice on roads common
None ok, or what's a good weight ?

Time tested rule of thumb..... Equal weight on rear as on front..

 

[Mojoh]

Care to elaborate? The weight of an engine!?

Sponsored